Tech

Windows 8 May Not Be Selling Well [REPORTS]

Windows 8 may not be off to a strong start. Sales aren't meeting Microsoft's own expectations, a longtime company observer says. At the same time, a major online PC retailer says sales of the new OS are "slow going."

Blogger Paul Thurrott, writing on his Supersite for Windows, says Windows 8 isn't selling as well as Microsoft thought it would, citing a "trusted" source at the company. While it was clear that Windows 8, which radically changes the Windows interface to incorporate touch, likely wouldn't sell as quickly as other major releases, the report suggests the new OS isn't even meeting those lowered expectations.

Windows 8 sales haven't been that good for Newegg, either. Speaking to Slashgear, Newegg Senior Vice President of Product Management Merle McIntosh says the online retailer was prepared for huge demand at launch, which never materialized. However, he did say sales of Windows 8 hardware and software were "steadily improving."

Thurrott's source says Microsoft is laying most of the blame on hardware manufacturers and their "inability to deliver." However, many PC makers shipped devices on or shortly after Windows 8's Oct. 26 launch. The report suggests Microsoft is disappointed with the initial designs of Windows 8 hardware, which comprises a wide variety of form factors, potentially leading to customer confusion.

There's also the extremely poor timing of the departure of Steven Sinofsky, who led the company's Windows division through the releases of Windows 7 and 8. Sinofsky left the company — officially of his own accord — just two weeks after the worldwide release of Windows 8. Microsoft's Julie Larson-Green (shown above) was named as his replacement.

So far the only official number for Windows 8 sales has been from Microsoft, which says the software has been downloaded 4 million times in the first four days after launch.

Have you held back from buying the new version of Windows? Why? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Mashable

BONUS: A Review of Windows 8

Windows 8 Review

Windows 8, Fully Formed

The new Windows is here. Windows 8 is a dramatic departure from Windows 7, blowing up the Start menu into a vibrant Start Screen that's electric with activity and well suited for touch devices like tablets. Despite some inconsistencies (particularly with the traditional desktop, which still exists), the new interface is powerful, fast and convenient.

Charms

Wherever you are in the system, you can always call up the "Charms" from the right side -- a set of top-level commands that include Start, Search, Share, Devices and Settings.

Sharing

Microsoft re-defined how apps communicate with each other, letting you share from any app that enables it. This is how sharing from the Netflix app looks, but the same functionality exists in most other apps with shareable content, calling up a similar list of sharing services.

Snap View

Snap is kind of the new minimize, letting you put two apps side by side with one of them shrunk to a vertical column. It's useful when the app is well suited to a scrolling list, like Bing.

Desktop Oddities

Although the desktop still exists in Windows 8, the new UI is ever-present. It makes for some odd mash-ups, like this modern-looking Wi-Fi settings menu. Other functions call up traditional dialogs.

Windows Store

The Windows Store has the same clean look and feel as other modern-UI apps, although it could use more big-name apps.

New York Times App

The New York Times app mirrors the look of Microsoft's news apps, with a horizontal scroll of stories you can naturally swipe through. The swiping works much better with a touchscreen, since on a touchpad swipe tends to take you too far ahead or back.

Rowi Twitter Client

Here's how a Twitter client looks in Windows 8. Twitter has said it's working on its own Windows 8 app.

Syncing Via the Cloud

One powerful feature of Windows 8 is your identity is portable -- if you have a Microsoft ID, you can log in to another Windows 8 PC, and it'll import your settings via the cloud, effectively becoming your PC. You can even download your own apps to the new machine once you authorize it.

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